Tuesday, 7 June 2016

Book ~ "Our Souls at Night" (2015) Kent Haruf

From Goodreads ~ Addie Moore pays an unexpected visit to a neighbor, Louis Waters. Her husband died years ago, as did his wife, and in such a small town they naturally have known of each other for decades; in fact, Addie was quite fond of Louis’s wife. His daughter lives hours away in Colorado Springs, her son even farther away in Grand Junction, and Addie and Louis have long been living alone in houses now empty of family, the nights so terribly lonely, especially with no one to talk with.

Addie and Louis are widowed seniors. They live in the same small town and have known each other for years. One day Addie approaches Louis with a suggestion ... is he interested in spending a couple nights sharing a bed? She is lonely and thinks it would be nice to have someone to talk with and have a warm body in bed (with no sex). Louis thinks about it and he starts to show up at Addie's at night and a friendship soon begins.

Addie's son, Gene, and his wife are having problems and split up. Addie takes in Gene's young son, Jamie, for a while until his parents figure things out. Addie and Louis show Jamie things he's never experienced before ... going to a local baseball game, camping, getting a dog, etc.

This is the first book I've read by this author and I enjoyed it. I liked the writing style ... it was different in that the majority of it is written in conversation. I liked Addie and Louis ... I thought they were cute together. Neither cared what the gossips in their small town said about them and it was nice that they'd found each other later in life. Addie's son, Gene, was an A-hole. He messed up his own life and kept expecting his mother to step in when he needed help (and she did). Her grandson, Jamie, was very precious to her and she (and Louis) were such a good influence on him.